It was most appropriate that Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, December 7, 2004, was selected as the date to dedicate the newly lighted flagpole in front of the Hobart Institute to the memory of John S. Bird, who was well known as a sales manager for Hobart Brothers company and later as superintendent of Hobart Institute of Welding Technology. 

Mrs. Eileen Bird was presented with a photo and a document detailing the inscription that is also on the plaque at the base of the flagpole: 

DEDICATED
IN MEMORY OF
JOHN S. BIRD
Wembley, England 1925 – 2004 Troy, Ohio
Superintendent of
Hobart Institute of Welding Technology
1982 - 1990  

“There is something different about the people who work in the
welding industry.  It’s the friendliness and camaraderie built on a
pride of craftsmanship - knowing you are the essence of so much
of what is made - that affects our daily lives.” - John S. Bird

Veteran of World War II
and Liberator at Dachau Concentration Camp.